Family Bonding
by Ze Great Camicazi
Summary: Lance and Veronica have some brother sister bonding at the shooting range. Literally the most random thing ever.


**Brother Sister Bonding time on the Sniper range!**

"Ready to go, Lance?" Veronica asked as she grabbed her keys and headed toward the door.

"I can't find my rifle!" he shouted back from his room.

"That's because I already got it," Veronica chuckled up to her little brother. She pushed her shorter bangs back and smiled pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose with a smile on her face at her baby brother.

"You are such a goof sometimes," Veronica said with an affectionate chuckle. Lance only grinned and followed her out the door. The two piled in the car and headed off.

000

The two pulled into their usual parking spot at the gun range. They were probably the youngest ones here and it really shocked some of the senior shots when they selected not just long range amo but sniper amo. Even stranger looks given to Veronica because of her glasses.

"Girly that is a big boy's amo," one snarky man said rotating his cap.

Lance moved forward when Veronica stopped him, one arm across his chest and she pushed her glasses up her nose. "It's nothing, Lance."

"Veronica…" Lance started in half warning.

"No, this gentleman thinks he can out-shoot us, Lance," she said taking his rifle from his hand and handing it to the man who had smarted off. "So lend him a box of your amo and let him put his aim where his mouth is."

"What?" the man asked his face falling at the absolute seriousness on Veronica's face.

"My brother and I know what we are capable of on the firing range. If you are indeed better than we are you would have no problem showing us a few things," she said. The man behind the counter, who knew the McLain's snorted.

"You got this, Nate," one of his buddies crowed. "What kinda damage could a girl in glasses do?"

"Boys, trust me on this. Don't go there," said the man behind the counter.

"He can take her," the buddies laughed.

"Alright, don't say I didn't warn you," the man said, turning to his next customer.

"Gentlemen," Veronica said, turning and walking towards the Sniper's Range.

The one who challenged her, Nate made a worried face that vanished in a moment for the false bravado he held, "You're on." Lance and Veronica shared a look and started toward the sniper's range.

"Hey, kids," the owner of the gun range said to them. The McLain kids turned back to him, "Go easy on them, yeah?"

"No promises," Lance smirked.

000

Veronica was laying on her belly in her "snipers nest" (it couldn't really be called such as she hadn't actually made it herself) eye to the sight on her rifle and Nate a cubicle over using her brother's rifle. Lance had the spotter's scope that the two never bothered to use, and Nate's friend had his but didn't really know how to use it, at least not for its intended purpose of aiding the sniper. Not that it mattered much anyway. Nate may have been handy with a rifle for skeets but a sniper rifle was a different ball game and more of a precision instrument.

"You know, he's gonna mess up my rifle and I'm gonna have to recalibrate it, right?" Lance said absently as Veronica adjusted her sights, seemingly not paying much attention to him.

"You would have done the same thing if it was you in my position," she said, "But I am sorry anyway."

"Hn, just kick his ass," Lance said. "That'll make it all worth it."

"That, I can do," Veronica said with a smile, still not looking at her brother.

"Keep on wishing, girly," Nate's buddies said. "Show 'em how it's done Nate."

"Fire when ready," Lance said smirking at them. He and his sister had been training as snipers for years. He could practically see Nate shaking in his booth. There was a pause then a shot. Lance flinched in sympathy for his precious sniper rifle.

"Easy with that! It's a precision instrument!" he shouted. Not to mention it was practically handcrafted. Considering his large family and their tight budget he and Veronica bought pieces of their rifles and put them together piece by piece.

The man didn't reply. Lance looked though his scope and tried to find Nate's shot on the target. "Did… What were you aiming at?" Lance said. "Whatever it was, I'm pretty sure you missed."

"Probably get closer than-"

Veronica fired. The bullet hit the "heart" of the target. She cocked her gun again and fired. She began a rapid fire succession.

"Now you're just showing off, Veronica," he chuckled.

She laughed back, "Like you wouldn't, too," she said.

Lance shrugged, "You're not wrong." The men looked gob smacked at the fact that she was such a good shot and they had basically lost a bet. She pushed her glasses up her nose and leaned back.

"Boys, I think that's game. If you don't mind returning my brother's gun so we can both get some good practice in…" she said looking at the shocked men.

Lance made his way to the other side of the divider and picked up the rifle from the man's almost frozen in shock hands. "Ummm… Veronica… I think we may have broken him," Lance laughed.

"Well, Wes did try to warn you boys," she said standing and making her way over to where her brother stood. "What's the damage?" she asked gesturing to Lance's rifle.

"Nothing five minutes of repair won't fix," Lance said bitterly, "So much for spot on accuracy today."

"Something tells me you won't be hindered too much," Veronica said, ignoring the men who continued to stare at the siblings in surprise. Then changing the subject quite rapidly, "So whatever happened to, Nichole? Did you ask her out?"

"Well, I obviously hit her with the McLain Charm, but…"

"But..."

"Seems you did too," Lance laughed. "She told me that you were more her type."

"Well, damn, sorry bro," she laughed.

"Nah, don't worry about it. You should go for it. You too would be a good couple," he said. "Didn't you say that you thought she was right up your alley, too?"

"Yeah… I guess I could ask," she said with a shrug. The two didn't notice when the others left just finished repairing Lance's rifle and they took up their nests and resumed practice with sibling like conversation between them.

000

Lance stared at the sniper rifle his bayard had shifted to in his hand. Memories welled painfully in his mind of his family, specifically Veronica and the conversations they shared over evenings on the gun range. He sighed and took aim. It was time to practice. Nostalgia could wait.

 **Boom, guess who decided to destroy some feels! That's right! This girl! Hope you enjoy it.**


End file.
